Traditionally, time clocks, punch clocks and other mechanical or electronic timepieces have been used to assist employers in tracking the hours an employee worked. With respect to mechanical time clocks, this was accomplished by inserting a heavy paper card, called a time card, into a slot of the time clock and having the day and time information stamped directly on the card. The information collected on the time card allowed a timekeeper to have an official record of the hours an employee worked and to calculate the appropriate pay for the employee.
A significant problem with traditional time clocks is that there is no way to verify the identity of the person who is actually punching the time card and may be subject to abuse. For example, an employee may leave well before the end of his shift without punching out and have someone else punch out for him. Since traditional time clocks do not track the identity of the person actually submitting the card, there is no way to prevent against such abuses.
Biometric time clocks have been developed to address this problem. Biometric clock utilize a person's biological attributes to identify them, rather than using a card or other external device. Examples of such biological attributes include fingerprint and retinal scanning. Since these biological attributes cannot be separated from the associated person, biometric clocks are effective in reducing the types of timekeeping abuses associated with the traditional time clocks.
Both time clocks and biometric clocks, however, do not address the myriad of other employee monitoring and management issues in the work place, such as, for example, controlling the amount of overtime worked by employees, monitoring compliance with pertinent rules and regulations, and so forth. These duties are often performed by managers who supervise the employee's work. Thus, companies that have a large number of employees are required invest a significant amount of money hiring and training managers to properly supervise and manage these employees.